Home on Berry Ranch
by CygnusOlor
Summary: Inspired by the movie 'Australia'.Story will not be historically correct. Rating may change. Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters, nor do I have any claim on Australia's story line. The rest is mine, unless stated other wise.


I'm back! Not that I went anywhere, but anyway I know I said I was going to be gone for a while, but I sat and watched 'Australia' and somehow got inspired to base a Faberry fic around it. It won't be exactly the same or even close if I can help it, but that's where the idea came from. Updates will be rare unfortunately because I'm taken for a fool at work and seem to work triple my contracted hours, anyway I hope the slow updates don't put you off. I'm hoping for some good feedback on this one, as I plan on taking my time and making it more detailed, with better flow (thats the plan anyway).

Review please.

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Home on Berry Ranch

Chapter One

In 1785, Ohio was a hard place to live no matter who you were, where you were born or what title you were born with. The government at the time was still in the making, which meant that those involved in its progress were more interested in gaining a position than looking after the people.

The law was corrupt, but that is to be expected in such a reclose area, where the little people really didn't matter as long as they did as they were told and didn't cause any bother. And nobody felt the whip of misfortune than those who residing in the bustling cow town of McKinley.

The land was harsh and dry throughout the year, always leaving those who worked under the suns blistering heat to struggle through their thirst as they slaved for the pittance their tight pocketed bosses were reluctantly paying them for their work.

It was a time where race ruled, whites and blacks were not seen to be equal, but that didn't mean anything among the poor, both would suffer equally if they had no money or name to them.

In the coupling views it was rare that races would mix together, as inter-racial relationships were so heavily frowned upon that it was practically taboo, although there was the minority that bit the rusty bullet and followed their own paths.

The McKinley church refused to marry inter-racial couples as well as homo-sexual couples. So those who couldn't marry didn't, but they did live as partners, they just hoped their relationship lasted a life time as the benefits of being lawfully bonded didn't apply to them.

Most couldn't take the strain that society placed on their relationships, but as with everything there was an exception. And this exception was probably the most taboo of its time; a homosexual and inter-racial couple seemed to appear from the dust that the dry wind blew in through the crowded towns streets. Not only that, but they had managed to re-produce, which completely baffled almost all of the townsmen, apart from those who stopped to really think about it.

And so the Berry's had arrived, straight off the boat that had departed from the busy harbour of New York and docked in cow town McKinley, much to their nineteen year daughter Rachel's distaste and upset.

She was quite the socialite back in New York, where her father's riches and lordship had put her in a very comfortable position within the upper-classes since birth. She didn't know what to expect from this small and from what she could see dusty little town. The one thing that she did know was that she and her fathers were not going to have such an easy time fitting in around McKinley.

Her father Leroy had managed to convince his husband Hiram that moving to this small town would be a perfect opportunity to branch out into other business pools. And being the loving husband that he is Hiram had almost immediately packed up shop and moved the family to the soon to be state of Ohio.

They stood off to the side of the pier, waiting patiently for their bags to be unloaded and taken to the next area of transportation in their journey. The family car and the majority of their luggage had already been moved to their new residence. The only one to have seen this residence was Leroy as it was his little project, and that made Rachel slightly cautious, she loved her father implicitly, but his 'projects' tended to blow up in this face, sometimes literally.

"I am to assume you to be Lord Berry, is that correct Sir?" A military suited gentleman asked as he approached the trio. It was noted that he spoke to Hiram only, though his eye did wonder over to Rachel slightly, something she was actually offended by, being the strong feminist that she was.

"Your assumption would be correct Captain Hudson. And as much as I hate to cut this greeting short, my family and I would very much like to get settled. It has been a long journey after all." Hiram responded shortly. He could easily identify a military captain when he saw one; his late grandfather had been one after all. Hiram was usually the graceful and well mannered lord he was brought up to be, but nobody disrespected his husband so blatantly one moment and then eyed up his daughter the next in front of him no less, and got his nice side.

"Of course Sir, your transportation is waiting just over there." He replied pointing over his shoulder, seemingly oblivious to Lord Berry's shortness with him and his actions. Once again his eyes wondered in the direction of Rachel, who scoffed as she picked up the ends of her dress to stop the ends becoming filthy and stormed over to the waiting vehicle.

She was already starting to regret not taking up her mother's offer of staying in New York with her, damn her father's for being her world.

The rickety truck made one final abrupt stop outside a huge wooden gate way that appeared the bolted shut. The words that once spelt the properties name were faded and the wood looked to be very brittle, bits of wood were chipped out.

"Well it has character I'll give you that much honey." Hiram murmured as he looked upon the abandoned ranch house, which appeared to be on its very last legs. He wondered why this rundown ranch in the middle of nowhere had cost him a small fortune, there was nothing to it.

"I know it needs a lot of work, but we can do it together as a family." Leroy replied, taking his husbands hand and giving it a single comforting squeeze. "And I know its a little out of the way, but I think it'll be a nice change to have some breathing room." He finished smiling hopefully at his daughter, who he knew really didn't appreciate the day's drive from town to the ranch.

"Understatement of the century." Rachel grumbled to herself, looking at the piece of scrap wood that was being passed off as suitable home for anyone. The dust that had immediately attached itself to her highly expensive tailored dress once she exited the car made her frown heavily.

"I don't like this, let it be noted." Rachel huffed, brushing of the dust clinging to her dress, for it only to be replaced with a new layer when a breeze swept through.

"Okay that's everything unloaded Sir. Good luck." The driver laughed, seeming to find some humour in the situation. He was quick to return to his truck and irritate Rachel even more by leaving a cloud of dust and dirty behind in his quick retreat back to town. He hadn't even waited for a thank you; he was that desperate to leave what the town had dubbed 'no man's land'.

"It'll grow on you sweetheart. And if it's any consolation you can finally have that horse you've always wanted. I'm sure they have a suitable breed to your liking." Said Leroy, he wrapped a strong arm around his daughters' shoulders, pulling her into him slightly. He didn't want to make his little girl unhappy, but he really thought this new atmosphere was for the best, for all of them.

"I would gladly forgo my dreams of owning my own horse, to be back in the civilised world. Why you would think this was a good idea is beyond me, neither of you have any experience in ranch work, and I highly doubt you even know what is required to run a ranch, never mind re-build one from scratch." Rachel ranted.

Her father's didn't reply, they merely sighed. It didn't need a educated man to gather that a girl with the former comforts granted upon Rachel that she would be anything but willing to accept this new form of lifestyle.

Not wanting to be around her father's at the moment, Rachel stomped up the barely there steps leading the ranch house. Luckily she didn't fall through the steps, though he fathers had waited with their breath held just in case.

Since the door to what Rachel was now going to refer to as the shack was hanging off hinges, she didn't require the key the driver had given them during the ride over. She groaned when she took in the state of the place on the inside, if it were possible it was almost as bad as the outside.

Cautiously she made her way up the creaking staircase to the second floor, determined to pick the better room of the house, a small start in the punishment she had planned for her father's. Several rooms were assessed, till Rachel decided on the largest room at the back of the house, the only room that appeared to have an ensuite. The view wasn't much, but at least she wasn't looking over the scrap yard that posed as the front yard.

Her judging eyes moved around the room, dust clinging to every inch the room's surfaces. The only thing to be seemingly untouched by the filth, was what she hoped was a new bed, one that was being protected from dirt by a thin sheet placed over the top of it.

Sighing Rachel slowly peeled the dust sheet off of the bed, careful not to move sudden so that the dust wasn't thrown into the air and onto the clean bed. She took one last look around her new bedroom, making plans for it quickly and then settled onto the bed with another heavy sigh. She was so mentally and physically exhausted that she didn't even bother changing into her night clothes. It was early morning already so she was going to sleep in through to the afternoon, when she hoped the mid-day sun would make everything look a little better.

Waking up wasn't pretty. Unfortunately Rachel had dreamt that she was back in the family town house in New York. As it happened waking up in the shack was cause enough for the spoiled teen to screamed with all of her lungs capacity. The windows were already broken and replaced with netting so there was no danger of her volume breaking the glass.

"Rachel, please enough of the dramatics." Leroy shouted pleadingly over her noise from outside her door. She stopped for a second when she ran out of air, she was getting ready to start again as it was making her feel a little better, letting out all of her frustration.

"Leave her to it honey; we have the drover to greet. He's supposed to be one of the best, so hopefully he'll be willing to lend us a hand." Hiram said pulling his husband away from their daughter's door.

Rachel had heard her daddy mention the guest, a male guest at that, which meant that Rachel had to look her best. She may hate to be lustfully gazed at by most men, but she had a reputation as a lady to uphold. That and the idea of a rugged, work worn man happened to seem quite appealing to her.

She scrambled no so gracefully from the tangled sheets of her bed. Quickly she shed her wrinkled dress and made her way to the bathroom, looking for a quick wash to freshen up, only to find that someone above had it out for her. No running water and what was dripping from the tap wasn't even something she's water the ground with.

How she wanted to cry, she wouldn't put her worst enemy in this situation. It just wasn't fair.

Outside Leroy and Hiram were waiting for the horseman who was supposed to be heading past them. Their driver had been quite helpful in the respect of information on the goings on of the ranch before it was abandoned and left to rot.

They hoped he would stop and be available for hire. They realised that Rachel had been right earlier that morning, during her rant. Neither of them knew anything about looking after a ranch, never mind bringing one that was quite clearly dead back to life.

Before anything was in view the sound of fast approaching horses hit their ears, and by the sheer volume it and the gentle rumbling through the earth made it obvious that there was going to be more than one horse passing by.

And went the herd of horse appeared out of the blue, the huge numbers of them made the men gawp. If they had thought the house could withstand the attack they would have retreated in to their new home, but they knew better.

Finally three horses appeared who looked to have riders on them; all three were wearing hats that covered their faces. One of them must be the guy they were looking for, but which one they couldn't be sure. They knew his name that was about it.

Rachel came out just in time to see the horse be herded past the house. The herders made it appear very easy to guide the fast moving horses into a high fenced pen. The hoarse voices shouting what Rachel assumed to be cattle jargon, she found the roughness very attractive, although she wouldn't admit to being aroused by the aggressiveness.

When the gates were successfully closed the drivers were grouped back together and slapping each other's shoulder and back in celebration. Driving a herd of horses of that number with only three riders was pretty good going; it was what made them the best.

Leroy smiled wide, very impressed by the display of skill the drivers had shown in their work. These were the kind of people he was looking to employ; hopefully they could come to some sort of arrangement.

"Hello, excuse me. Sorry I'm Leroy Berry and I have to say that was very impressive." Leroy had to raise his voice to make himself heard over the laughter of the three riders, whose faces he had still yet to see.

The front horseman, who appeared to be the leader pushed their onyx black horse forward towards Leroy and his family, the riders face was still bowed slightly preventing themselves from being seen.

When the ride did look up, Rachel gasped dramatically, while Leroy and Hiram hide their surprise fairly well only a few shocked blinks showed their shock. Rachel continued to gawp; her hand was up covering her hanging mouth.

Fierce hazel eyes bore into Rachel's wide brown ones. Feminine lips curved up into a smirk as she witnessed the reaction of the obvious city girl in front of her.

"The names Quinn and this here be Santana and Brittany." Quinn said her hand gesturing to the girls who had rode up beside her in turn.

"That was pretty impressive huh." The Latina woman that Quinn had introduced as Santana said smugly, she held her hand up for Brittany to smack, which she did quite happily with a giggle.

"Yes it was, I'm Hiram and this is our daughter Rachel. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Quinn." Hiram said, pulling his daughter from behind him, so that she was next to him, giving Quinn the perfect opportunity to look the young socialite over with a gentle grin.

"You have a beautiful daughter Sir's." Quinn replied. If she was offended or shocked at hearing the girl had two fathers, she hid it very well. From what the two Berry men could tell, the working woman in front of them was only seeing and taking notice of Rachel.

"Thank you; she's our pride and joy." Leroy boomed proudly, pulling Rachel into him smiling down at her happily.

"Q I'm hungry." Brittany whined, interrupting whatever Quinn was going to say next, which would no doubt make the small brunette in front of them blush even more than she was from Quinn's attention.

"If you'd like we were just preparing a meal ourselves, we'd very much like it if you were to join us. WE have some business to discuss with you also if you're willing to listen." Leroy suggested. Hiram stayed silent for the most part, this was his husband's project he was happy to just sit back and let him take the lead.

"That would be great, thanks." Quinn replied, still staring Rachel for the most part, though she did let her eyes flicker towards the man talking to her.

She knew what kind of business the man was talking about, but she was going to go into this smarter than she did with the last owner of the land. She was young and naive when she made a deal with the previous owner, but this time she wasn't going to be screwed over.


End file.
